In the processing of many articles they must be successively placed in one or more liquid baths for treatment. For example, in electroplating and electrorefining installations various structures such as anodes and cathodes are placed in open top tanks housing acidic electrolytes. Periodically the articles are emerged from the tanks and relocated into other tanks containing liquids of other compositions or of differing concentrations, and finally into dry storage. To relocate the articles lifting devices such as travelling beams and cranes are employed which move back and forth over the tanks. The lifting devices are periodically positioned over the tanks and lowered into gripping engagement with a submerged article which is then lifted from the tank. The lifting device is then laterally repositioned over another tank, a rinse station or dry storage station and the article lowered.
While the loaded articles are raised out of the tanks for repositioning they are, of course, in a wet condition. Liquids on their surfaces will thus gravitate down the article sides and then fall as drippings. While the articles are still located above the tanks from which they have emerged such drippings do not ordinarily present a problem. However, once the lifting device has moved the article laterally away from the tank such drippings may fall into other tanks housing other liquids and contaminating them. In other cases the wet articles or loads may be moved over dry areas and fall directly upon personnel creating a safety problem or upon the floor damaging it or rendering it slippery and hazardous.
To alleviate the just described problem drip trays have heretofore been associated with lifting devices employed in wet processing installations for movement into and out from positions beneath the lifting devices. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,699,983 tracks are mounted over a row of wet processing tanks upon which a trolley is driven. A lifting mechanism is supported on the trolley for raising and lowering work pieces into various tanks. A drip tray is also mounted to the trolley for lateral movement between a position beneath the lifting device and to one side the lifting device.
Though apparatuses of the type just described have served to prevent drippings from wet loads on lifting device from polluting other tanks or dripping onto adjacent floor areas and personnel, the apparatuses themselves have been bulky and cumbersome. In addition, such cannot be utilized in many wet processing installations or tank houses where tanks extend virtually from one wall of the tank house to the other since in such cases there is no room to accomodate the drip pan in its withdrawn position beside the lift. Having to have its own track and drive, these apparatuses are quite bulky, costly and in need of frequent maintenance. Proper counterbalancing has also been difficult to achieve. The present invention thus seeks to provide other apparatus for collecting drippings from a wet load carried by a crane in which the just described deficiencies are alleviated.